Tipplers had a hard time on Monday as restaurants, bars and hotels in Delhi declined to serve liquor after their excise licences expired on July 31. Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena granted an extension of the excise licences of the hotels, bars and restaurants to serve liquor for a month after a decision to this effect was taken by the Delhi government on Sunday, sources said. However, although restaurateurs said the process to get an extension of the licences is online, it will take at least a day or two to complete it.
The owner of a well-known food chain said, “we incurred a loss of Rs 1 to 1.25 lakh on Monday because of the liquor confusion. We lost our visitors to Gurugram and Noida. But we hope that the situation will become normal in the next few days.” Earlier in the day, representatives of the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) met excise department officials and urged them to renew the existing licences. In a memorandum, the NRAI said the industry had welcomed the implementation of the new excise policy from November 2021.
“However, piece meal extensions have been granted since then for payment of fees/licence renewals, the last of which expired on July 31. As done in the past, the industry was expecting an order for payment of fees before July 31.
“This, however, has not happened, and members have received e-mails informing them about expiry of their excise licences,” read the memorandum.
Noting that “such business disruption” is causing a huge financial strain on the industry, which is still recovering from the ill-effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, they urged for an “immediate intervention” in issuing directions for payment of fees and renewal of the existing excise licences without interruptions. “It is reiterated that the matter is most urgent and we seek a resolution to this issue in order to ensure business continuity for the industry,” they further said.
Restaurateurs said they were in the dark about what was happening but added that they have learnt that an extension will be granted on the existing licences for at least a month. Sources present at the meeting said the excise department officials have promised that an official order will be issued soon, granting extension of licences, but added that the duration of the extension was not specified.
A restaurateur, on the condition of anonymity, said, “In anticipation of the situation, many of us had stocked up liquor that would last us for at least two months but then, since our licences have expired, we cannot serve it. “It is a very confusing situation at the moment. We have had a good relation with the government and the excise department and hope that they will come out with the official order soon.” As a result of liquor unavailability in Delhi, vendors in adjoining Noida witnessed a surge in the number of customers.
“There has been a rise in the number of customers at the liquor shops in Noida. The number was much higher than usual,” an excise department official in Noida told.
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